Wow. WOW. When I was in school, I had to go to the unit the night before and research my patient and was expected to know all about them, including their scheduled meds, by the time I arrived bright and early 1 hour before shift change. The *only* exception to this was L&D.

1. don't give unsolicited nursing advice (though nurses deal with wounds more than pharmacists, the pharmacist was working and the nurse was not)
2. the pharmacist was defensive and reacted as such (personally I would classify that behavior as putz-ish)

On another note, the winter olympics will be held in Hell the day I address a pharmacist as "Doctor."

"You cannot do these types of jobs because you're a compassionate person. That can't be the reason. Because there will come a day when you won't feel compassionate, even if it's just for a day. And then you have to decide to be a professional."

I use a few different things, depending on the severity of the belligerence. If I'm delayed by something serious and the floor is too busy for a coworker to help me out, I'll go in quickly, apologize for the delay using an even and uninflected tone, then launch into my pain assessment and scanning the band/med. If they snark off, I'll again apologize and ask if there's anything in addition to the med that I can do for them.

If they STILL continue to grumble, I'll tell them that while I'm sorry that circumstances beyond my control prevented a swifter response, I understand and acknowledge that they are frustrated. I then tell them that in order to improve our night, let's talk about how I can provide them with better care moving forward. Then I'll just keep changing the subject: Do they want the next dose as soon as it's available? Need ice/heat pack? Thirsty? Comfortable position? Need to go to the bathroom? Until they give up trying to get a rise out of me, and let it go.

I get that sometimes they just need to vent and smart off initially, but let's move on after. I don't operate in the past, and you're not roping me into an argument so you can report me. It happened, I've apologized, I've made amends, and I've encouraged their input on how they'd like the rest of the shift to go. I'm not going to use a soft, shamed voice and fall all over myself showering patients with apologies and play into their anger. I try to stay even-keeled and objective.

If they're cursing and yelling at me, I'll calmly and quietly scan them and the medicine and attempt to do a pain assessment. If they won't answer, I'll chart they endorse pain but refuse focused assessment at the time. After I've medicated them I'll tell them that their language is inappropriate, apologize again for the delay, and inform that I will be bringing another staff member along each time I return until we can speak to one another calmly and with mutual respect.

Last of all-- if they're yelling, carrying on, AND threatening me or using aggressive body language, I tell them from the doorway that I will not be entering the room until we can talk calmly. If they keep on threatening and yelling, despite my warning that escalating and violent behavior won't be tolerated, then I'm calling security. Then, they're not getting a thing from me nor are they getting within arm's length of me until someone formidable from security has arrived to support me. I'll take my charge in too if they're available.

To me, the prioritization of the nurse-patient duty takes a backseat the second a pt starts hurling threats towards me. My safety will always trump everything else to me. Once i have support and three people are looking them in the face, they'll usually start feeling foolish and downplay it as though I'm overreacting. They may even make up some elaborate lie about me and "report" me. But, remaining in the doorway has more than one advantage: everyone at the nursing station will be witnesses to hearing them call me a stupid b**** and say they want to "show me what pain is". Cute, but no cigar, bud. .

Maybe I am waaaaaay in the minority but I too am an illegal drug user! My husband had some Vicodin for a minor orthopedic injury. I was on vacation and had the worse sore throat you can imagine. Ten on a scale 1 - 10. So yes I took one of my husband's Vicodins. (It didn't do a thing, the whole idea of start your pain meds before the pain gets bad really applies).

And dear husband also has Ambien prescribed for him, yes I have taken an occasional Ambien!!!!!!

So call the DEA and the BON!

Off topic but I really don't like Ambien for the elderly. I see what it does to them, my husband can be so goofy, irrational, at night! Don't get me started!

This may sound a little harsh, but you are NOT nursing material. You took a controlled substance without a prescription. And to top this off, your mother gave it to you.

What an awful and judgmental thing to say. They came here for advice and not to be told they aren't nursing material because they took a very very very widely used medication to help calm them down or help with sleep. It's not the best idea but Jesus, you need a serious attitude adjustment. Go vent your anger to someone else, this is a safe place.

I really hope it works out for you. Being honest and upfront and admitting/owning your mistake (however it happened) shows a lot about your character and level of integrity. Running away, ignoring it, withdrawing from the program, trying to hide it, etc. would have been a mistake, that is not how one should deal with problems in life or in nursing. I don't believe that it means you are not "nursing material", a lot of nurses make mistakes -- in fact, ALL of us have made mistakes (work or life), we are not perfect! It's how you deal with those mistakes that matters.

Sorry guys. I just asked bec I'm a new nurse and my BMI is 40. I know that there is an anti-discrimination act but I also heard that hospitals dont hire nurses like me. Ty God bless.

A long time ago I picked up on the fact I was being discriminated against because of my age. Obvious, because remarks were made during hiring process. But overweight and looks have been more subtle barriers. You just have to do the best you can with what you've got, and make the changes you are able to make.

Yes. You have to have a BMI of 20 for women and 22 for men. Studies show critical thinking and task performance are directly related to weight. I personally refuse care from a nurse who is overweight, as he/she cannot possibly care for me safely.

I extensively interview all nurses who care for me. Factors that I feel impede safe care by an RN are a caloric intake above or below the trend of the day (I so agree, fatties are icky), history of domestic abuse of any sort (I go back 3 generations), drunkards (more than 2 drinks in your lifetime), lack of education (don't want any nurse with less than a BSN), IQ, menstruating nurses, nurses with a family history of slave ownership, religion (don't want any religious nurses except those who are among "the truly redeemed), skin colour, unclean nurses (I require references and photos of the home), and my nurses must always have a compatible star sign.

In our hospital, they don't hire RN's who are obese and smoker. I tell this to my little "huge" friends who are planning to work in our hospital so they can start watching their diets now and start working out.

we can only go on what we are told, the OP knows if they are lying or not. allegedly he/she tested neg at the same place right after receiving the positive. therefore, if it were me, i would be doing a hair test, ASAP. if the OP is being truthful, and again, we have nothing else to go on, the only reason they have for not stating that it could not be positive is an admitted exposure of ~ six months ago. which makes little to no sense.